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Ford pulls plug on Lincoln Blackwood luxury pickup
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DETROIT, June 24 (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co. said on Monday that the Lincoln Blackwood luxury pickup truck will go out of production later this summer, after one of the shortest runs for a mass market vehicle in the history of the modern auto assembly line.
"The way we've evaluated the program at this point, it doesn't makes sense for us to go forward with it," said Jeremy Barnes, a spokesman for Ford's Lincoln division.
Confirming a report that first appeared in industry weekly Automotive News, Barnes said "a very, very small quantity" of 2003 models of the four-door truck would be built before production ends in August.
But like the ill-fated Edsel, which Ford produced in the late 1950s, critics say the Blackwood is something that never should have seen the light of day.
Ford had initially hoped to sell up to 10,000 Blackwoods a year when the vehicle went on sale last November. But Barnes said only about 900 were expected to have sold through the end of this month.
With a price tag of nearly $53,000, the Blackwood was aimed at the top end of the lucrative U.S. pickup segment.
It was plagued by quality and production issues from day one, however. And marketing problems included the vehicle's lack of four-wheel drive, popular among buyers in the snow belt. Like Henry Ford's old Model T, it also only came in black.
Other factors which industry analysts have blamed for killing sales of the Blackwood included its truck bed cover, or tonneau, which was power operated but virtually impossible to remove or lift high enough to store large cargo items.
And the truck bed itself -- carpeted and lined with brushed aluminum and flashy LED display lights -- looked fine for hauling golf clubs or a suitcase but nothing that might leave a stain.
"This vehicle was never really given serious consideration by engineers or at least certainly by people that would use it on a daily basis," Art Spinella, head of Bandon, Oregon-based, industry tracking firm CNW Marketing Research, said in a recent interview.
"It was an orphan from day one."
one of fords bigger problems...quite a few of their products have no market
95 contour se...dark blue...monsterflow air filter...remanuf atx...wiring harness recall or bust!!!96k miles...motorcraft awsf32pp plugs & red ford racing 9mm wires...kvr black plated cross-drilled rotors & carbon fiber pads...currently undergoing renovation...excuse our dust!!!
are my dodgers for real????
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Boy, is Ford Stupid?! They need to do what GM does...take an Avalanche, add a few luxury options, and rebadge it as a Cadillac for twice the price  . Ford should have took a Lightning and added a Navigator grille if they needed a Lincoln truck so bad IMO.
************************* 2000 SE Sport V6 Deep Navy CC Metallic My 2G Sport *************************
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uhh, they only sold 500 of the effing things, thats why they pulled the plug.
THIS CAR IS F***ING COOL!
bone stock for now...
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i just saw a sign at the local dealer offering a $7000 rebate
Spattmobili®
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Someone should lose their job for that.
"The way we've evaluated the program at this point, it doesn't makes sense for us to go forward with it," said Jeremy Barnes, a spokesman for Ford's Lincoln division.
Well...no ****ing way! Should have evaluated the program before you made one of the damn things. How they sold 900 is a miracle in itself...
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How is Cadillac's pickup truck doing in regards to sells? The only reason why they came out with it was to compete with the Blackwood. I have to admit though, I've seen way more of Cadillac's truck than the Blackwood. In fact, I'm not sure I've seen one on the road yet.
Curtis
Dead 98 Black SVT
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Originally posted by SVTNupe:
How is Cadillac's pickup truck doing in regards to sells? The only reason why they came out with it was to compete with the Blackwood. I have to admit though, I've seen way more of Cadillac's truck than the Blackwood. In fact, I'm not sure I've seen one on the road yet. i haven't seen either truck and quite frankly if it isnt on the road here in soCal no ones buying them
95 contour se...dark blue...monsterflow air filter...remanuf atx...wiring harness recall or bust!!!96k miles...motorcraft awsf32pp plugs & red ford racing 9mm wires...kvr black plated cross-drilled rotors & carbon fiber pads...currently undergoing renovation...excuse our dust!!!
are my dodgers for real????
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Originally posted by gdub520: Originally posted by SVTNupe:
[b]How is Cadillac's pickup truck doing in regards to sells? The only reason why they came out with it was to compete with the Blackwood. I have to admit though, I've seen way more of Cadillac's truck than the Blackwood. In fact, I'm not sure I've seen one on the road yet. Well, if that's true, then BMW, MB, Lexus, Infiniti, and Acuras are the highest selling car manufacturers, cuz I saw more of those than anything else in LA last month.  AAAhhhh...Conspicuous consumption at its best.
Ride: 2000 T-red SE
Beats: Kenwood 316S, Alpine MRF200, Orion XTR 6.2, Coustic 400SE
Mods: CTA, Magnaflow exhaust, SVT Instrument cluster, Knuaberized doors, side markers, F***ed up painted headlights.
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You guys complain when Ford doesn't take a chance on a car, then you turn around and slam them for releasing a car that won't have a large appeal. (Yet you want the Mondeo) Sheesh.. Comeon lets cut them some slack, at least they tried..
R
98 V6 Lots-o-mods SOLD
88 Daytona Shelby Z TII (The beast)
87 Daytona Shelby Z TII (Holy 20 psi of boost batman!)
Mods- 3" Downpipe, Hi-Flow cat, 3" mandrel bent exhaust with Dynomax Ultra flow. Manual boost controller, TurboXS blowoff, 5th injector, large canister wastegate, Nitrous Express go-fast-be-happy kit, ported exhaust manifold, ported intake manifold, upgraded motormounts, eibach springs, strut tower brace. Oh and 20 PSI to boot.. my oh my...
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...I venture to say if they had put the mondeo into production here instead of the blackwood they would have sold more than 500 :rolleyes:
1999 Silver Frost SVT
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Dyno'ed at 175.3HP/155.5TQ
"How much must I live through just to get away..."
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